The Rock2Rock 10k Trail Run – Black Mountain, NC May 29, 2009

I should have known and I should have paid closer attention to the confirmation e-mail when I signed up for this race. I looked at previous times and thought “OK, looks pretty tough.” But I thought, “how tough can it be?”  Here’s an excerpt from the confirmation e-mail I received:

If this is your first visit and you are expecting a big, glitzy expo, or a flat fast course…You are in for both a shock and a treat…Camp Rockmont is one of the most beautiful pieces of land you will have the pleasure of running on….…and the course is…well…NOT flat.  The course itself is challenging to say the least…It is a clockwise loop across two rock outcroppings on the property. The elevation gain and loss is somewhere in the 1500 foot range…The footing ranges from lovely groomed gravel road, to atrociously loose scree and almost imperceptible trails.  We have had one of the wettest Spring seasons on record…so, the trails will be a bit of a muddy mess in places…and the rock faces will be slick and dangerous…be careful!

I think, everything is relative.  But these people are not joking.  This was the most grueling race I have ever done.  Camp Rockmont is, without a doubt, one of the most spectacularly beautiful places I have seen.  There are lots of nice spots in Western North Carolina but this really does stand out.

The race starts with a long uphill.  I could run for about two miles or so and then I (and everyone else around me) had to walk.  I estimate that I was “hiking” for about 1.25 to 1.5 miles.  The peak is absolutely stunning and worth doing this race just to experience that.  But then the descent is as warned — almost imperceptable, slippery, rocky, muddy.  Impossible for me to run (call me a wimp but the realistic chance of twisted ankles and broken bones make me more than a little cautious and, therefore, slow). 

I finished at about 1:31 (yes that’s a 10k — actually, according to my Garmin it’s less than 10k).

After experiencing that it makes me think, “how did Shiloh Mielke do this in 43 minutes?”

Photo of Me Reaching the Top. Don’t let the picture fool you. I look better than I felt. I was surprised by the view and the photographer. Courtesy, Chris Brown Photography (yep — he was up at the top!).

Photo Gallery by Chris Brown Photography

For more on the race, go to www.rock2rockrun.com

Retro Run Fletcher, North Carolina, Fletcher Park May 16 2009

Well I’m sorry that I missed this new four mile run. Fletcher Park is a great location for a race. I did a 5k there in 2007 and that is still my 5k PR. I’m glad to see a good turnout for a first-time race and some top runners such as Aaron Saft and Shiloh Mielke.  Maybe I’ll make it next year.

Here are the results …

Fletcher Park Retrun Run 4 Mile Race
Place	First Name	Last Name	Gender	Age	Time
1	Aaron	Saft	M	29	21:42:00
2	Shiloh	Mielke	M	29	21:43:00
3	Thomas	Cason	M	36	22:10:00
4	Bradley	Adams	M	32	24:21:00
5	Brad	Slavens	M	40	25:50:00
6	Bri	Gaal	M	29	26:51:00
7	Erik	Ostergaard	M	33	27:04:00
8	Beth	Saft	M	30	27:28:00
9	Bill	Branson	M	51	27:43:00
10	Marty	Gaal	M	37	27:52:00
11	Joseph	Smith	M	20	28:03:00
12	Sanders	Sanders	M	50	28:09:00
13	David	Glover	M	45	28:12:00
14	Lincoln	Crosse	M	50	28:30:00
15	Shiyrah	Mielke	M	23	28:38:00
16	Nataska	Tkachuk	M	23	28:55:00
17	Bill	McKibbon	M	42	29:20:00
18	Dave	Feister	M	52	29:25:00
19	Jonathan	Vess	M	39	29:28:00
20	Kim	Sweetland	M	33	29:40:00
21	Mike	Tinsley	M	43	29:56:00
23	Alan	Cameron	M	65	30:17:00
24	Kelli	Johnson	M	33	30:35:00
25	Alyson	Arrington	M	16	30:55:00
26	Ken	Miller	M	41	30:56:00
27	Preston	Jones	M	57	31:02:00
28	Harvy	Poorbough	M	56	31:42:00
29	Ross	Britton	M	34	32:00:00
30	Tom	Ryan	M	42	32:15:00
31	Wanda	Burnette	M	57	32:19:00
32	Ron	Wyant	M	49	32:27:00
33	Josie	Mielke	M	27	32:44:00
34	Meadow	Tarves	M	31	32:45:00
35	Larry	Boyer	M	56	32:50:00
36	Mitchell	Ryan	M	16	33:08:00
37	Joe	Darling	M	32	33:34:00
38	Dietrich	Fabricius	M	58	33:35:00
39	Melissa	Troyer	M	29	33:42:00
40	Dan	Gilbert	M	43	33:52:00
41	Mark	Ryan	M	45	34:08:00
43	Bob	Goodwin	M	56	34:47:00
44	Allen	MayCruy	M	47	34:51:00
45	Joy	Ponder	M	36	34:58:00
46	Dave	Veur	M	36	35:00:00
48	Kaleb	Davis	M	20	35:20:00
49	Kate	Kraft	M	26	35:25:00
50	T.J.	T.J.	M	33	35:33:00
51	Gene	Burleson	M	37	35:36:00
52	John	Wiener	M	28	35:54:00
53	Jennifer	Mielke	M	51	35:56:00
54	Michael	Lee	M	52	36:17:00
55	Timothy	Anderson	M	42	36:21:00
56	Denise	Riddle	M	31	36:35:00
57	Greg	Jackson	M	47	36:36:00
59	Mike	Kai	M	46	36:49:00
61	John	Kerzester	M	43	36:52:00
62	Raylene	Morrow	M	45	36:57:00
63	Summer	Dere	M	36	37:03:00
65	Dan	Ruiz	M	31	37:15:00
66	Walter	Miller	M	10	37:17:00
67	Scott	Russell	M	39	37:27:00
68	Chad	Rundall	M	38	37:33:00
69	Donna	Cope	M	51	37:52:00
70	Zac	Lamb	M	28	38:03:00
71	Chipper	Jones	M	59	38:06:00
72	Thomas	Hauser	M	35	38:17:00
73	Monique	Ruiz	M	27	38:52:00
74	Tanya	Blerford	M	35	38:53:00
75	Brendan	Harrington	M	30	38:59:00
76	Robbie	Brown	M	26	39:14:00
77	Elnor	Thompson	M	61	39:50:00
78	Michael	Shaw	M	36	39:59:00
79	Sherry	Roane	M	49	40:28:00
80	Sonya	Hollingsworth	M	55	41:45:00
81	David	Williams	M	51	41:50:00
82	Linda	Cox	M	55	42:27:00
83	Brick	Cox	M	54	43:27:00
84	Felicia	Thurman	M	25	43:52:00
85	Bethany	Hagberg	M	31	44:24:00
86	Marty	Edes	M	30	44:26:00
87	Martha	Marshall	M	64	44:27:00
88	Jennifer	Cordran	M	29	44:44:00
89	Jamie	Stevens	M	27	46:01:00
90	Brianna	Tickle	M	..	47:07:00
91	Cat	Morgan	M	16	47:08:00
93	Heather	Brown	M	19	47:55:00
94	Kim	Brown	M	47	48:12:00
95	Craig	Smith	M	44	48:13:00
96	Mary	Koppenheffer	M	58	48:16:00
97	Tammy	Smith	M	45	48:22:00
98	Sandy	Michener	M	67	50:31:00
99	Kathy	Hagere	M	57	50:48:00
100	Suzzane	Small	M	53	51:04:00
101	Grady	Hajip	M	31	51:11:00
102	Amy	Harrington	M	34	51:25:00
103	Sherry	Kai	M	47	51:26:00
104	Dinorah	Kranker	M	70	55:29:00
105	Drew	Darrell	M	29	55:30:00
106	Dale	Vogel	M	78	63:07:00
107	Katie	Kai	M	15	63:26:00

Spring into Action 5k, Carrier Park, Asheville, North Carolina May 2, 2009

There are more and more races turning up at Carrier Park and I’m all for it.  You know what you’re getting into because it’s the location of the annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and most races follow pretty much the same route.  There’s a little bit of variety with the combination of paved paths and dirt/mulch trails.

Here are the results …

Place Name Bib Sex Age Time

1 Josey Weaver 139 M 18 16:02.95

2 Erik Ostergaard 154 M 33 19:13.68

3 Bill Branson 105 M 51 20:24.35

4 Natasha Tkachuk 136 F 53 20:54.34

5 Kimberly Sweetland 140 F 35 20:56.78

6 Kelly Allen 152 F 40 21:01.63

7 Noland Brown 51 M 24 21:12.85

8 Lincoln Crosse 168 M 50 21:28.18

9 Katy Nery 160 F 35 21:31.12

10 Dave Pfister 99 M 32 21:37.63

11 Allie Keenan 60 F 27 21:39.65

12 William Sauber 73 M 60 20:00.54

13 Martin Muir 1 M 29 20:06.06

14 Alan Cameron 86 M 65 22:32.57

15 Ken Miller 163 M 41 22:46.63

16 David Raulerson 89 M 35 22:55.96

17 Philip Gibson 87 M 13 23:02.14

18 Wanda Burnette 62 F 57 23:10.05

19 Harold Schenker 171 M 53 23:23.13

20 Charlotte Paganini 69 F 26 23:32.04

21 Ron Wyant 13 M 49 23:39.36

22 Rick Lutovsky 155 M 64 23:48.61

23 Rick Cochran 93 M 63 24:12.44

24 Toby Williams 149 M 39 24:29.81

25 Max Furigay 165 M 12 24:32.56

26 Nicole Rittenour 49 F 31 24:34.44

27 Chuck Pickering 161 M 53 24:38.53

28 Dennis Duffy 159 M 50 24:41.93

29 Roger Gosnell 141 M 57 24:54.13

30 Allen McCrary 150 M 47 25:07.33

31 Cindy Conkins 47 F 50 25:26.14

32 Robert Goodwin 16 M 56 25:28.08

33 Joshua Robinson 67 M 27 25:29.83

34 Jonathan Laws 110 M 9 25:35.48

35 Wendy Goodson 61 M 35 25:36.38

36 Randall Foote 142 M 63 25:37.10

37 Robert Drury 135 M 47 25:45.34

38 Ben Hilinski 8 M 34 25:54.18

39 Coleman Smart 113 M 10 26:05.08

40 Christina Long 132 F 47 26:06.64

41 Todd Queen 145 M 33 26:08.27

42 William Smith 83 M 54 26:13.13

43 Aaron Saft 138 M 31 26:08.60

44 Dylan Barnwell 121 M 9 26:20.16

45 Greg Jackson 3 M 47 26:09.17

46 Steve Bratsch 38 M 40 26:33.20

47 Raylene Morrow 9 F 45 26:31.77

48 Jes Garner 148 F 31 26:29.44

49 Kristen Brown 50 F 24 26:48.73

50 Jane Corbin 100 F 55 26:54.50

51 Sabrina Ramsey 59 F 29 27:00.74

52 Sophie Furigay 137 F 9 27:05.24

53 Kyla Brobst 56 F 28 27:12.08

54 Bekah Hankley 144 F 13 27:18.40

55 Terry Etterman 158 F 39 27:47.93

56 Nicole Washburn 157 F 36 28:14.58

57 Karen Lally 84 F 37 28:16.84

58 Jennifer King 90 F 22 28:29.61

59 Mitzi Pearson 94 F 46 28:46.26

60 Alejandra Alday 32 F 11 29:05.63

61 Jack Rubisch 128 M 9 29:06.33

62 Robert Dowling 120 M 40 29:07.54

63 Rebecca Blecke 7 F 29 29:11.86

64 Rhonda Reichert Gentry 57 F 29:21.38

65 Kayla Greenfield 104 F 14 29:24.54

66 Kevin Cook 12 M 38 29:29.26

67 Martin Luna 166 M 46 29:33.14

68 Sherry Roane 164 F 49 29:41.24

69 Kelia Cochran 92 F 60 29:43.09

70 Paul Lloyd 2 M 32 29:53.10

71 Natalie Hessler 98 F 24 30:20.38

72 Jordan Bennett 25 F 10 31:05.63

73 Jeannette Hampton 39 F 40 31:07.14

74 Mike Bennett 151 M 42 31:08.73

75 Felicia Thurman 133 F 25 31:10.23

76 Jeshua Pott 111 M 9 31:17.18

77 Andrew Mudry 124 M 9 31:20.24

78 Aaron Wilson 48 M 31:31.2

79 Marcia Cole 103 F 31:32.77

80 Stephanie Hunter 11 F 32 31:42.71

81 Kate Muir 156 F 28 31:47.54

82 Keith Smith 170 M 35 31:55.4

83 Leopold Wimberly 106 M 9 32:00.79

84 Owen White 126 M 9 32:04.33

85 Robbie Luna 122 M 9 32:02.5

86 Sarah Nie 44 F 30 32:05.93

87 Kimberly Nunnally 55 F 40 32:13.24

88 Shelly Schenker 172 F 40 32:16.94

89 David Helgeson 101 M 41 32:27.47

90 Martha Marshall 88 F 64 32:33.87

91 Deanna Buchanan 42 F 45 32:48.94

92 Nathanael Laws M 10 32:57.10

93 Lucas Villemagne 131 M 6 33:20.46

94 Scott Villemagne 130 M 42 33:22.03

95 Sarah Dannals 4 F 25 33:23.33

96 Erica Bell 45 F 27 33:46.20

97 Ellen Parry 40 F 34 34:12.31

98 Kenia Garcia 31 F 10 34:16.70

99 John Nunnally 54 M 40 32:21.56

100 Ashley Smith 169 F 33 34:24.06

101 Amita Peltz 173 F 34 34:26.77

102 Leslie Ryan 147 F 37 34:29.07

103 Tricia Summers 5 F 32 34:27.75

104 Matt Ostwalt 96 M 27 34:32.60

105 Amy Ostwalt 97 F 28 34:34.23

106 Beth McDaniel 52 F 34:38.436

107 Beth McDaniel 53 F 34:39.83

108 Lisa Queen 46 F 40 34:42.20

109 Regan Mason 74 F 30 35:45.94

110 Anna Plack 78 F 27 35:50.44

111 Alice Briggs 77 F 30 35:49.18

112 Ali Pridemore 24 F 9 35:55.24

113 Katie Hensley 38 F 32 35:59.99

114 Francis Rose Rice 29 F 11 35:58.17

115 Bethany Morgan 18 F 9 36:01.83

116 Keith Kimble 34 M 45 36:03.27

117 Taylor Bell 82 F 28 35:51.76

118 Erin Stachma 95 F 34 36:43.48

119 Kimberly Guevara 26 F 11 36:45.21

120 Rachel McMahan 58 F 47 36:50.98

121 Austin Bennett 153 M 12 36:57.04

122 Julia Moore 36 F 45 37:12.55

123 Madison Davis 19 F 10 37:13.85

124 Mason Davis 137 M 11 37:36.63

125 Crysta Guevara-Alday 20 F 10 37:37.83

126 Hayleigh Pringle 22 F 10 37:40.90

127 Jennifer Tatum 43 F 27 37:52.81

128 Alden Gwun 27 F 11 37:51.68

129 Megan Morlok 65 F 24 38:09.21

130 Heather Morlock 66 M 25 38:10.45

131 Frank McGowan 72 M 38 39:12.74

132 Kristi Highes 143 F 25 39:17.51

133 Natalie King 146 F 30 39:19.61

134 Ian Dowling 112 M 9 39:49.05

135 Drew Hargrove 123 M 9 39:50.65

136 Dean Penland 125 M 9 39:57.44

137 Jacob Villemagne 109 M 10 40:01.18

138 Ashleigh Lechner 162 F 9 40:24.46

139 David Pulse 107 M 10 40:29.05

140 Evan Webb 127 M 9 40:35.00

141 Cody Ingram 117 M 11 42:27.09

142 Meredith Robinson 35 F 30 42:33.97

143 Adia Robinson 21 F 10 42:33.74

144 Laura Ingram 134 F 42 42:42.13

145 Graeson Sheridan 115 M 9 42:58.86

146 Jo Glover 6 F 56 43:55.04

147 Sierra Gerringer 28 F 10 44:53.04

148 Sarah Briggs 79 F 61 45:36.98

149 Angie Smith 81 F 54 45:39.70

150 Lori Hernandez 33 F 32 45:41.47

151 Sam Pennel 119 M 9 45:44.10

152 Psyche Wimberly 118 F 42 45:45.65

153 Laura Fincher 91 M 74 45:54.64

154 Lisa Slocum 102 F 45:33.97

155 George Briggs 80 M 61 45:59.93

156 Sadie Martin 30 F 10 45:40.66

157 Taylor Pridmore 23 F 10 47:10.51

158 Penny Bennett 41 F 43 47:11.99

159 Lucas Wise 129 M 10 47:18.01

160 Michael Hartz 108 M 10 47:15.94

161 Julia Zenolk 70 F 34 58:51.01

162 Chelsea McGowan 71 F 35 58:49.27

163 Mary Culbertson 63 F 50 1:02:06.25

164 Wally Culbertson 64 M 60 1:02:04.41